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While a Brampton hospital remains under warning it may be host to the country’s first case of Ebola amid the ongoing crisis in West Africa, Ontario’s top doctor assured residents that the patient is improving and the threat of an outbreak here remains minimal.

The patient at Brampton Civic Hospital, who was quarantined Friday with fever and flu-like symptoms following a trip to virus-plagued Nigeria, was feeling better by Saturday evening, according to Dr. Graham Pollett, the province’s interim chief medical officer of health.

“I’ve been advised that the patient is improving…which is positive in the context of the likelihood that this is not Ebola,” Pollett told the Star. “Ebola patients usually progress along a serious illness path, so the fact that this person is improving is a positive sign not only generally, but from an Ebola perspective.”

The interim chief doctor said there are many common diseases which can cause symptoms similar to Ebola but are far less dangerous and far more treatable.

Still, Ontario health officials are awaiting blood test results from a Winnipeg lab to determine with certainty whether or not the Brampton patient has contracted the virus that has killed nearly 1,000 in West Africa since the current outbreak began.

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Those results should be known by 6 p.m. Sunday, Pollett said. “This will all be put to rest very soon.”

The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg is the only Canadian lab capable of carrying out Ebola tests.

The World Health Organization recommends Ebola testing only happen at “biosafety level-four labs,” Pollett said, and Winnipeg is the only such facility in the country.

“Initial signs and symptoms of Ebola are similar to many more common diseases,” he said. “I am in close contact with our Chief Medical Officer of Health and we are working with our health system partners to monitor and manage the situation.”

William Osler Health System, under which the Brampton Hospital operates, confirmed the situation in a statement.

“As a precautionary measure, Osler put in heightened infection control measures in the emergency department including isolating the patient. Due to the situation in West Africa, Osler has enacted additional precautions to ensure the safety of everyone receiving care, visiting and working at Brampton Civic,” the statement read.

Hoskins added that the province’s health care system is such that Ontarians have little to worry about if the Brampton patient is confirmed to have Ebola, still an unlikely result.

“With the experience and lessons learned from the SARS epidemic, our hospitals have sophisticated infection control systems and procedures to protect health providers, patients, and all Ontarians, and are fully equipped to deal with any potential cases of Ebola,” he said. “I will continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide regular updates.”

The interim chief medical officer of health said that if the Brampton patient is determined to have contracted Ebola, health officials would immediately begin tracking down anyone the patient had contact with and quarantining them as well.

“All the public health measures from a community perspective to contain and prevent any spread of the disease would kick in,” Pollett said.

“It is important to continue to focus on providing patient-inspired care for all of those who require our services and not to be distracted by this news,” the memo read.

Pollett said the public’s response to the news of a possible case of Ebola so close to home is not disproportionate to the virus’s effects, but stressed the risks here remain low.

“It reflects the anxiety that this disease causes generally,” Pollett said, “But in terms of the risk of Ebola coming to Canada, it remains very low.”

Two prior attempts to build biosafety level-four labs in Ontario both failed, as the Star previously reported.

The last, in 1995, saw a $5.8-million laboratory in Etobicoke scrapped after strong community backlash. A $2-million lab built in the 1980s at Toronto General Hospital never opened its doors due apparently to bureaucratic disagreement.

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